A former intelligence figure lays out a theory that some faction wants war with Iran to remake the world order — bad news if true, but it's speculation, not proof.

• The claim: a small group wants war with Iran not just to kill its nuclear program but to push the US out of the Middle East and end the dollar's grip on global trade.
• Such a war would wreck America's standing, so no president would knowingly go along with it.
• Trump campaigned against foreign wars and clearly didn't want this fight, which the theory says was forced on him.
• The dark hint: leaders get a carrot and a stick — get elected, or maybe get killed — to fall in line.

Outlook: This is an unproven conspiracy theory, so watch whether tensions with Iran actually escalate rather than treating the plan as fact.